Copper sculpture



D. G. WATSON COPPER SCULPTURE Filed May 5, 1958 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent (TOPPER SCULPTURE Donald G. Watson, Ventura. Calif, assignor to Gustave Miller, Washington, D.C.

Filed May s, 1958, Ser. No. 733,030

1 Claim. or. 3526) This invention relates to metal sculpture, and it particularly relates to the use of a metal blank to be used in such sculpturing.

More and more people are today engaging in creative, and especially artistic endeavors for the purpose of escaping ordinary daily ten ions and for providing an outlet for inherent talents which, when put to use, afford a great amount of personal satisfaction. This type of self-therapy has led to many people engaging in painting wood'working, sculpturing, etc. Among these endeavors, there has been an increasing amount of metal-Working and metal sculpturing. A soft pliable metal is used for this type of sculpturing; among such metals, copper is the most preferable since it is not only highly malleable but is also of a pleasant and unusual color; however, aluminum is also a highly satisfactory material.

For those who are not metal workers but merely hobbiests who are interested in doing the sculpturing in their spare time, it is not feasible to start with a blank sheet of the metal since it requires a high degree of metalworking skill and highly specialized molding apparatus to place the sheet into a snfiiciently contoured blank form for use in sculpturing.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a blank made of malleable metal for use in metal sculpturing, this blank being of concave-convex preformed general outline and requiring only the addition of detailed fashioning to place it in final form, the convex side providing a positive form, the concave side providing a negative form.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a metal blank of the above type which can be pre-formed into unfinished blanks corresponding to any desired finished configuration.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved metal sculpture device, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efiicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in View, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a blank embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the blank while being worked on.

Fig. 4 is an elevational detailed view of various added components which may be attached to the blank for finishing the complete effect.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a completed mask.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts. there is shown a concave-convex mask blank. generally designated 10, which has been molded on its convex side into a positive hollow face portion 12 of unfinished appearance; this positive hollow face portion being an extension of a fiat back-ground portion 14. The face portion 12 comprises the general positive outline of a face but remains to be completed by an artisan using a tool such as shown at 16 in Fig. 3. The entire blank 10 shown here is made of copper; however, as noted previously, it is also possible to use aluminum or a similar malleable metal.

The face portion 12, although comprising the general outline of a face, is devoid of expression or character. This is where the artists touch comes in. The artisan uses the tool 16 to shape the nose, mouth, eyes, etc. into a desired set of features according to his skill. He may also use the tool 16 to form wrinkles, scars, etc.

In shaping the blank 10 into the desired form, it is generally necessary for the amateur to use a backing of some sort within the negative side of the hollow face portion 12. This can most easily be accomplished by filling a bag, such as shown at 18, with sandor the like, and inserting the filled bag into the hollow or negative side of the face portion. The bag may be made of any desirable flexible material such as cloth, plastic, or the like. This sand-filled bag provides a firm yet pliant support during the use of the tool 16 for sequentially applying incisive pressure in selected areas on the positive side of the form while continuously viewing the progress of the work.

The device has been described as being characterized by a face. This face 12, in addition to be shaped into final form by the use of a tool such as shown at 16 can also be further decorated with separate appurtenances. For example, if the face is to represent a cannibal, a nose ring 26 can be inserted through the nose, or hair, such as shown at 22 can be applied to appropriate places as, for example, on the head. Other appurtenances such as nose bones, earrings, etc. may also be applied if desired.

The face may, of course, be shaped to characterize anyone, male or famale. Whatever the nature of the finally formed face, appropriate appurtenances may be applied to suit the character; or, if desired, no appurtenances at all may be used.

In addition to a face, the hollow portion 12 may be originally molded or machined into any other desired blank configuration of unfinished appearance. This unfinished blank may be a horse, a car, a ship or any other conceivable object.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather th n limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set fortn and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

A sculpture assembly comprising a partially pre-formed concavo-convex blank form of ductile material, the convex side providing a positive form and the concave side providing a negative form, and a bag of granules for supporting said blank form of ductile material, said bag of granules filling the negative concave side of said blank form and supporting said form with its positive convex side uppermost in viewable position while incisive pressure is sequentially applied in selected areas on the positive side to add desired details and characteristics to said form, the progress of the work being continuously viewable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 298.921 Van Campen May 20, 1884 1,866,448 Braund July 5, 1932 1,971,700 August et al. Aug. 28, 1934 2,711,039 Wittman June 21, 1955 

